1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coating apparatus and a method of assembling the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional robot for use in a coating apparatus, as illustrated in FIG. 4, generally includes a swivel base 40, a first vertical arm 41 extending from the swivel base 40, a second arm 42 extending from the first arm 41 in a horizontal direction, and a wrist portion 43 which is coupled to a tip of the second arm 42 and is capable of holding the coating gun. The swivel base 40, the first arm 41, the second arm 42 and the wrist portion 43 are movable and are driven by independent motors. Since the coating apparatus is operated in an explosion-proof area, each motor is disposed in a pressurized chamber provided in the robot. The pressurized chamber is filled with high pressure air, which prevents air mixed with a thinner from entering the pressurized chamber from the outside.
Further, as illustrated in FIG. 4, since the robot is used for coating, a coating device including a color change valve assembly 45, a paint feed pump 46, a trigger/dump valve 47 are mounted to an outside surface of the robot via a bracket 44. A pressure-proof (explosion-proof) motor is used for driving the electrically-operated paint feed pump 46.
However, the pressure-proof motor is relatively large in size for its motor capacity. As a result, the robot is necessarily large-sized, which may cause interference between the robot and a workpiece.